Grammar - to do / doing

Verb + -ing or to

(unit56,57)

Examples for general rule

-ing

admit / avoid / consider / deny / enjoy / fancy / finish / imagne / keep (on) / mind / postpone / risk / stop / suggest

to

afford / agree / arrange / decide / deserve / fail / forget / hope / learn / manage / offer / plan / promise / refuse / tend

Verbs can be different meanings

remember

▼ remember doing

I remember doing something = I did it and now I remember this.
You remember doing something after you have done it.

• I know I locked the door. I clearly remember locking it.
  (= I locked it, and now I remember this.)
• He could remember driving along the road just before the accident, but he couldn't remember the accident itself.

▼ remember to do

I remembered to do something = I remembered that I had to do it, so I did it.
You remembered to do something before you do it.

• I remember to lock the door, but I forgot to shut the windows.
• Remember to buy some bananas.
  (= Don't forget to by them.)

regret

▼ regret doing

I regret something = I did it and now I am sorry about it.

• I now regret saying what I said. I shouldn't have said it.
• Do you regret not going to college?

▼ regret to do

I regret to say / to tell you / to inform you = I am sorry that I have to say.

• I regret to say that we were unable to accept your offer.

go on

▼ go on doing

go on doing something = continue doing the same thing.

• The president paused for a moment and then went on talking.
• We need to change. We can't go on living like this.

▼ go on to do

go on to do something = do or say something new.

• After discussing the economy, the president went on to talk about foreign policy.

try

▼ try to do

attempt to do, make an effort to do.

• I was very tired. I tried to keep my eyes open, but I couldn't.
• Please try to be quiet when ypu come home. Everyone will be asleep.

▼ try something / try doing something

do it as an experiment or test.

• These cakes are delicious. You should try one. (= have one to see if you like it.)
• We couldn't find anywhere to stay. We tried every hotel in the town, but they were all full.

need

▼ need to

I need to do something = it is necessary for me to do it.

• He needs to work harder if he wants to make progress.
• I don't need to come to the meeting, do I?

▼ need -ing

You can say that something needs -ing.

• My phone needs to charging.
  (= it needs to be charged.)
• Does your suit need cleaning?
  (= ... need to be cleaned.)
• It's a difficult problem. It needs thinking about carefully.
  (= it needs to be tought about carefully.)

to and preposition + -ing

(unit66)

afraid to (do) / afraid of (do)ing

▼ afraid to (do)

This form is used when there is an aim, an intention; it is turned to the future, not ‘validated’ yet but could occur in the future. It refers to a particular occurrence.

• This part of town is dangerous. People are afraid to walk here at night.
  (= They don't walk here at night because it is dangerous.)
• James was afraid to tell his parents what had happened.
  (= He didn't tell them because he thought they would be angry.)

▼ afraid of (do)ing

To talk about fear of things that happen accidentally.
This form is a kind of validation of the ‘action’ and may be equivalent to a noun, nominal form (loss for losing, wound for hurting, etc), refers to an activity (known, already practised or repeated).

• The path was icy, so we walked very carefully. We were afraid of falling.
• I don't like dogs. I'm always afraid of being bitten.

Afraid of vs afraid to | ToLearnEnglish
https://www.tolearnenglish.com/forum/lire.php?num=6&msg=57210&titre=Afraid+of+vs+afraid+to

interested in (do)ing / interested to (do)

▼ interested in doing

I'm interested in doing something = I'm thinking of doing it, I would like to do it.

• Let me know if you're interested in joining the club.
• I tried to sell my car, but nobody was interested in buying it.
• I didn't enjoy school. I wasn't interested in studying.

▼ interested to do

I was interested to hear/see/know something = it was interesting for me.

• I was interested to hear that Tanya left her job.
  (= I heard this and it was interesting for me.)
• I'll ask Make for his opinion. I would be interested to know what he thinks.
  (= it would be interesting for me to know what he thinks.)
• I was Joe recently. You'll be interested to hear that he's getting married soon.